MFG - Chapter 36 (Patreon)

Chapter 36: Spider-Man Villains Around the City; the Green Goblin Hunt

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The air exploded from the impact, and Tigra was sent flying while spinning in the air. She hit a building, a Walmart store, which thrummed and collapsed.

“What the fuck?” she wiped blood from her lips and hopped back to her feet, ignoring the commotion of the fleeing civilians around her. Some recognized her, shouting to ask what was going on, but even they started running when her attacker walked into the store.

A man wearing a large rhino suit, making him easily stand over 10 feet. She growled as her tail danced behind her and her eyes locked with him. He growled, “Should have just let me pass, missy,” he said, “Now you’re in deep shit.”

Oh, deep shit was an understatement, he was like a moving boulder; an unstoppable force of nature. She didn’t expect him to be this strong when she and Spider-Man stopped him from kidnapping that kid earlier.

Just who the hell was he?

Of course, Tigra didn’t know who this man was; a super soldier created by Russia with a permanent rhino armor infused into his body, which earned him the codename Rhino. He was given the mission to kidnap astronaut John Jameson, son of J. Jonah Jameson. 

Earlier, Spider-Man was the first to notice him running a rampage, Tigra only noticed the commotion when she grabbed a milkshake to drink. When she saw the massive size of the beast, she threw the milkshake and rushed in to support Spidey. So far, she and Spidey figured out that this unstoppable foe had two key factors: Firstly, when he began charging, the Rhino couldn't change directions or easily halt his advance, and secondly, this man was rather dumb. Perhaps medically.

With those two things figured, they could finish him off sooner or later. But that’s when a new foe emerged out of nowhere, Green Goblin, who solely targeted Greer for some reason. He was yelling something about all who worked with Enrique must die or some stuff, but she didn’t care to listen. It was hard to fight against the flying goblin since she didn’t have any ranged attacks. She could jump, but the green goblin was way too fast for her. 

Thankfully, Spider-Man managed to divert the green bastard’s attention toward himself, which left Tigra to deal with Rhino on her own.

She was a lot faster than him, but her attacks weren’t much of an issue for him, so it was not a game-changing advantage. Because even if she was fast, he could send her tossing from one city block to another if he punched her when she approached her.

In the sky, Spider-Man was dodging bombs and swinging around Green Goblin. But Tigra couldn’t see him doing much damage against the goblin; Spidey wasn’t used to fighting like that.

Now both of them were stuck against their opponents, neither losing nor winning.

– Fwoosh!

That’s when a white blur stroked across the sky. Colliding against Green Goblin and sending him flying to a distance, he came to a halt. Enrique, Supernova, waved at Spidey before following after Green Goblin. Or at least he was about to when he noticed Greer’s nervous smile and wave of hand. 

“Rhino?” he asked from the sky, and only Tigra’s heightened senses caught his words. No, the supervillain in question heard it too, turning his head up to look at Enrique.

“Another fly?” He asked, frowning, “Come down, I will-”

Enrique pointed both hands toward Rhino, and a blast of lightning rushed at the fool. He wore a metal suit, so his eyes popped as he shouted in pain. Still, Tigra noticed that he did not suffer major injuries, any normal person in his situation would have been fried alive. But Rhino simply fell to his knees, but he wasn’t unconscious.

“Tigra, take care of him before he recovers. Spidey, help the civilians in the rubble,” he said and flew off toward Green Goblin.

Tigra sighed. How easy things were for a truly powerful Hero. Shaking her head, she tapped the ground and jumped in front of Rhino’s face, kicking him in the jaw to send him flying against a wall. The fight continued.

****

Enrique chased the Green Goblin through the city skies, their clash causing bursts of sparks and explosions. The Green Goblin hurled pumpkin bombs and razor bats, which Enrique deflected with ease, lightning crackling from his fingers.

The city below was a blur of lights and buildings as they weaved through the air, a dance of destruction that left trails of smoke and fire. Green Goblin wasn’t exactly helpless in the battle, although Enrique was holding back quite a bit as he was planning in his head, Harry was holding his own weight. 

He wasn’t just a normal human in a glider. The Goblin Formula had enhanced him in more ways than once.

Each attack Green Goblin blocked was swift, and each bomb he threw was calculated by a head far more capable than human. While the goblin’s punches were useless against Enrique’s enhanced body and suit, the bombs had to be dodged. It wouldn’t kill him, but it might tingle a little.

As they fought, the Green Goblin taunted, "Hah! I was thinking you’d be stronger,” an annoying, screeching voice said. “How’s Mary Jane these days, eh? I’ll visit her after I put you to your grave." His voice was filled with malice, echoing through the air.

Enrique smirked. "MJ? Oh, she's doing great. You know, she tastes even better than she looks. So tight too, I guess her previous partner couldn’t stretch her out properly. What a waste for her to have ended up with such a loser, don’t you think?" The taunt hit a nerve, and the Green Goblin shouted at the top of his lungs, tossing over seven bombs at once.

He charged at Enrique, his glider engines roaring with fury. Enrique slapped the bombs away and dodged, twisting in mid-air with ease, and countered with a powerful punch that sent the Goblin crashing through a billboard, shards of glass and metal raining down onto the street below.

Recovering quickly, the Green Goblin sneered, his face contorted with rage. "You brazen fucking bastard, I'll make you regret ever crossing me!" He pulled out a large pumpkin bomb, its fuse already lit, and hurled it at Enrique. 

It was too late to dodge or slap away since the fuse was already out. The bomb exploded in a fiery blaze, but Enrique was already on the move, having blocked the explosion by crossing his arms earlier. He darted through the smoke and debris with blinding speed.

"You talk too much," Enrique said, appearing behind the Goblin and sending a kick to his back. A loud crack resounded and the Goblin was sent flying, his glider sputtering from the damage. 

He barely managed to regain control, spinning wildly through the air before righting himself. The Goblin snarled, his eyes blazing with hatred. "I'll tear you apart!" 

He fired a barrage of razor bats, the deadly projectiles whistled through the air. Enrique charged at the bats, lightning dancing around his body. The bombs may have tickled him, but these were just pieces of metal. 

The electric field around Enrique took the bats around himself. Enrique stopped and shit his hands towards the Green Goblin. His own bats flew towards him, but the Green Goblin was able to easily avoid them. Enrique didn’t wait and shot a blast of lightning at the Goblin. The bolt struck the Goblin square in the chest, sending him spiraling downwards.

By now Enrique had a plan in his head. So he closed the distance in an instant. He grabbed Green Goblin by the collar, yanking him off his glider. "This ends now," he said, slamming the enemy into the side of a skyscraper. 

People inside the building gasped, and the impact created a spiderweb of cracks in the glass. The Goblin groaned in pain, tossing bombs toward Enrique. The explosion, if it happened, would blast the glass and might kill the people inside from the shards. Enrique tossed Green Goblin away and kicked and slapped the bombs far into the sky.

Dazzling explosions filled the sky, while the people in the building fell to their butt. He turned to them and waved, before pursuing his enemy. The goblin glider was back on his feet, flying toward Enrique with blood flowing out of his helmet. 

“Die!” He yelled, but Enrique was having none of it anymore. He had shown to the world how dangerous Green Goblin’s bombs were; some people had recorded that fight. So now, it was time for him to get serious. With a flurry of punches coated with lightning, Enrique overwhelmed the Green Goblin, 

Harry wanted to create distance, and Enrique let him go. Harry had been so preoccupied with escaping that he didn’t notice a flash of lightning hit him, disarming him.

He fell towards the rooftop, but he knew it wasn’t over. His glider would automatically come back to him before he knew it. He could even hear its engine roar back to life.

In a single second Enrique took hold of the Green Goblin’s grinder and destroyed it. The villain crashed onto a rooftop, letting out a cough. His mask was cracked, revealing a bloodied face twisted in fury and desperation.

Hovering above him, Enrique smirked with a dark idea in his mind. Since people saw how the Goblin utilized bombs, he would make it look like the Green Goblin was about to detonate a suicide bomb to destroy the city, forcing Enrique to "heroically" kill him to save everyone. 

This way, he could eliminate the threat while maintaining his image as a hero. Good.

“Too bad, Goblin,” Enrique said as he dropped to his feet. The Goblin spat blood and glared up at Enrique, before letting out a roar of frustration, lunging at him with a final burst of strength. Enrique sidestepped, grabbing the Goblin by the back of the neck and slamming him face-first into the rooftop. 

The force of the impact cracked the concrete, and the Goblin let out a pained grunt.

A moment later, he gagged, "S-seems like it’s my defeat today, hero. Sadly, I don’t think I’ll let you… throw me into jail." He reached into his suit, moving fast, and pulled out a bomb. It looked different, it was a smoke bomb.

From a distance, people wouldn’t know what he pulled out. Enrique held back a grin and pointed a finger, “Jail? No, it’s death that I’m sending you to. Stupid fucker.”

Green Goblin blinked and growled. “You wouldn’t dare! Your image-!” when he felt a jolt against his skin, his rage vanished. He quickly pleaded, "No. Please… no…" but Enrique's expression remained cold.

"It's over," Enrique said, his voice a low growl. He unleashed a surge of lightning, the energy coursing through the Goblin's body. The villain convulsed, his screams echoing through the city. Enrique tightened his grip, his eyes glowing with intensity. 

That wasn’t enough to kill him, but it was enough to send him to death’s door. Enrique stopped as he knew he needed to do the finishing move in a different way; in a way that would leave no doubts. There was a gas tank on this rooftop, that’s why he had tossed the Goblin here. That gas would make the scene bigger. He looked at the series of bombs in Green Goblin’s belt as he shot a laser out of his eyes at one of them.

In a millisecond, the laser touched the bomb, and it exploded along with all the others, touching the gas. The explosion was instantaneous, a massive fireball that engulfed the rooftop. Enrique shielded himself with his cape, the force of the blast sending him flying. 

The sound of the explosion roared in the sky, echoing, as gasps of shock filled the city. As the flames and smoke began to clear, he hovered above the destruction, his eyes scanning for any signs of life.

There were none. The Green Goblin was gone, his body incinerated in the blast. Enrique took a deep breath, feeling a sense of grim satisfaction. It was done. The insect that was bothering him and his assistant was gone, burnt to a crisp.

“Feels great after an honest victory,” he chuckled and turned his attention back to the city below, where the chaos was finally starting to subside. 

Spider-Man had managed to evacuate the civilians, and Tigra seemed to have subdued Rhino, who was now unconscious and being restrained by a team of arriving police officers. The situation has been taken care of. 

Enrique descended to the ground, his presence commanding attention. The civilians and officers looked at him with a mixture of awe and gratitude. And when they cleared a bit later, Spider-Man swung over, landing beside him with a thumbs-up.

"Nice work, man. To think Green Goblin will suicide bomb… are you okay? It’s not your fault he died." Spidey said, trying to console him.

Enrique nodded, his expression calm. "Yeah, just my ears there’s a bit of ringing in my ears.are a little weird. Let's just get this place cleaned up and make sure everyone is safe."

He allowed himself a moment of satisfaction. He had done what needed to be done, and the city was safe. He hoped MJ was ready to repay him tonight.

X-x-X

Scott Summers was in his room, hungry, angry, and watching the TV, where a press conference was being held.

Green Goblin's identity was revealed. His body was destroyed in the explosion, but according to the intel from Supernova, it was Harry Osborn. After investigation, the accusations have been confirmed.

The Oscorp industry was in a very messy situation, and amidst all of this, Supernova appeared in front of the press. People knew that he hated the press, from back when he broke a few cameras that were pointed at him and his super group during the Battle of New York. Yet he appeared on his own this time.

Scott wasn't interested in all this one bit, of course, so why was he watching? It's because Enrique didn't come alone, he had Jean Gray beside him.

“He tried to blow himself up to take me down with him,” Enrique said on TV. “My safety is not of concern, but it could have been really dangerous if the apartment on which he exploded was occupied. Out of pure good luck, they were out on a family vacation. For those who are curious, my Nova Games Inc has reached out to them to compensate them greatly. They're now living in a much better condition.”

Scott's eyes twitched hearing all that. Was he just here to brag? What the fuck.

“I am here to say an important message,” he continued. “Harry Osborn wasn't a good person. Far from it, he used his influence to blackmail the people around him. From his ex-girlfriend to his employees, none were spared. He has been proven guilty by the help of Professor Jean here,” Enrique pointed at Jean, “by the testimony of his ex-girlfriend and the people around him, who Professor Jean made sure were telling the truth via mind reading. If we had known about his true nature earlier, then we could have prevented his ‘Green Goblin’ escapades.”

Those last two messages made the press jump from their chairs, mics at hand.

“Mind reading? Is that allowed? How is that even ethical? How does anyone consent to that mutant reading their minds? Did you really just admit to stealing people’s private information?!” a brave journalist asked, making Scott laugh. That was correct, she read his mind even when he didn’t consent! Jean was that type of woman. If she didn’t even care for her boyfriend’s privacy, how could she care about others?! 

In response, Enrique shook his head. “Not at all. We've asked their permission before going through their memories. And even so, it was just the part about Mr Osborn.”

“But how do we know that she didn't go through more? How can we ever be sure that she's not going through our memories right now?!” Another journalist asked, and Scott let out a loud laugh. 

It's getting interesting now. Scott thought. He must be regretting ever setting up such a conference. Stupid bastard.

“Journalist, do you have children?” All of a sudden, Enrique asked something that could be interpreted as a threat.

The journalist scoffed, “I do, what of it?”

“How can we be sure that you aren’t an abusive parent? No, how can you be sure that your kids are not immortal reincarnated entities who are a million years old? How do you know that your wife isn't secretly a mind-controlling mutant who manipulated you to marry her?” Enrique asked question after question, and a loud commotion almost started. 

Of course, his questions seemed senseless and provocative, but that was the point.

He raised a hand to stop them, “What I'm saying is, instead of blaming mutants and imposing all this bad faith on them, try to be more accepting. Because honestly, we can never be sure of anything at all. Just like how not all humans are villains, not all mutants are ‘monsters’. What rights do you have to blame Miss Jean for things she did not commit? When did she ever give you the ideas you are thinking about? Is she not human because of her genetics, do we have to impose more rules on her because of the way she was born?”

“....”

“This is not the fourteen-hundreds, let us be sensible. She's not some witch who we should burn at the stake. You guys easily accepted Thor and the Asgardian Gods, but not her? In truth, in the end, she is just a human… just with some more abilities. Not an alien. Not a God. Not a person who tried to take over the world. Just like how Loki was an enemy and Thor an ally, there are good and bad people among mutants too.”

A long silence descended on the area, and then another journalist raised his hand, a smirk playing on his lips. “We all saw that picture, then isn't she your lover? Are you just protecting her because of that? Also, I remember that incident when you became a mutant because of Magneto, so aren't you one of them now? Speaking of mutants as a whole, where were they when the Battle of New York took place?”

Enrique let out a sigh, taking a step back from the mic. “Daily Bugle? I am greatly disappointed that a journalist from such a reputable news channel would ask such a thing. I shall speak about myself first. I've lived all my life as a human, and then I was forced by that weird beam to awaken my X-gene. In that sense, should I go to the doctor to remove my mutant gene? Should Captain America, who I'm sure you all know the story of, go back to the military and ask them to make him ‘human’ again? After all, I was not born with the mutant gene. Having been a human and turned into a mutant, I am more qualified to talk about this issue than anyone in the world.” He scoffed, and the journalist went silent.

Obviously, how could anyone dare to criticize Captain-fucking-America, the legendary hero of World War II? That would not only kill the journalist's career but also the organization behind them.

Enrique continued, “As for Miss Jean, she and her group stopped a villain with enough power to bury New York ten times over, a calamity if you will.  If not for them, even if we won against the aliens, the calamity would have destroyed New York. Don't believe me? Then do your job and research, you'll find signs of a very big fight on the outskirts of New York, not caused by the alien invasion.”

“I can confirm that. I covered that news.” a journalist said, which made Enrique smile. Nobody knew, but that person was hired to write that article. He was one of Enrique's people. “You, daily bugle guy, aren't you embarrassed to blame them without even doing proper research? Looks like daily bugle fell hard.”

The daily bugle journalist grew even quieter, and the other journalists too took a step back. They were scared of his next words.

“Most importantly, she's not my lover, but so what if she was?” Enrique turned his head to look at Jean and pulled her to him by her waist. She was startled but didn't say a word. “What does that change? Shouldn’t you attack the positions and not that person? I could be the most horrible person in the world, and my points still stand. Or do you mean to demean me for the people I choose to have relationships with? Do you know what this situation reminds me of?”

Everyone grew quiet.

“I am sorry if anyone is offended by this, but by asking that question, isn't Mr. Daily Bugle Journalist acting as if I'm a white man from the 18th century, announcing marriage with a black woman?” He spread his arms wide. “GUYS, is that what we are really going for?! How disgusting of you! With powers to crush skulls, I so wish to attack a racist bastard like you right now, but you know what? I abide by the law. Think again when you try to discard my and Jean’s right of freedom!” 

Enrique looked at the journalist, who was now being glared at by all the black people around the area, as well as the other journalists for ruining the face of news channels. He was sweating and trembling. 

By bringing out such a sensitive topic, he had effectively shut up any possible reply. If anyone argued, they'd be labeled as a racist scum.

Then, he tightened his arm around Jean. “Lastly, if I had the choice, I would rather be her lover and stand beside her proudly than cower because of the disapproval of a random racist piece of shit. Believe me when I say that if not for the mutants, the world would have burned a few times over, and Jean Gray is someone who has saved this earth more times than I can count. If she had wanted to cause any harm to humans, believe me, we wouldn’t be alive right now… Even with the Avengers. This lady is powerful.”

With that line, the conference burst into an uproar. Everyone started talking, and the news traveled to every corner of the world.

Scott leaned back, falling on the bed, and staring at the ceiling with a blank look on his face. “God fucking dammit,” he said. “How dare he touch her…?!”

Despite hearing all that, Scott only cared about one thing.

****

“I hope you enjoyed the show,” Enrique murmured, and a hum came from the other side of his earpiece.

“I feel like Magneto has succeeded,” said the White Queen, her tone today was a lot more affectionate than usual. “By turning you into a mutant, he effectively saved our reputation, didn't he? Thank you for your words, even though I feel like most of this was just a plan to get your hands on that phoenix’s waist.”

“Oh, trust me if it was that easy,” Enrique let out a chuckle. “She's quite prude. She's happy with the talk, with all the clout that it generated, which will surely be the first domino to fix this Mutant/Human issue. She thanked me a lot, yet pretended like I never called her my lover.

“She's shy,” Emma said.

“Of course, you would know. Hundreds of years living as a telepath, if anyone, you should know her thought process.” 

She scoffed, “Hey, not hundreds with an s. It's just a hundred. And no, even so, she has always been a purer child than me. I've been… cold and calculative from the get-go, she's not. I used to call her naive for it before but she's quite the inspiration for my kids. Even though both of us are telepaths, our empathy level is different. If it was me in her spot, I'd have dragged you to my bed right away.”

“Nobody said you can't do that now,” he said, and she scoffed.

“Better luck next time, tiger. I am busy.” She cut the call, leaving Enrique to shrug to himself.

“Was worth a try,” he murmured to himself. “Plus it did its work. For the first time, she talked about her past.”

Emma Frost was cold and calculative, but she wasn't emotionless. That was why she made her mutant school, that was why she cared so much for her students.

She just needed to be hit on a bit harder than normal for her diamond heart to let him inside. No matter how manipulative she could think of him she would never know the true intensity of his manipulation – because his mind was blind to her.

“Mhm, are you done- guck- talking?” as he was busy pondering on her words, his attention returned to the center and he looked between his legs. Miss Jane was doing a good job with her mouth, kneeling under his office desk.

“Yes,” he reached out a hand and ruffled her hair. “You're doing good.”

Nova Games’ reputation was through the roof since he mentioned it in front of the camera. This was great since the new game was just about to be released.

“We should be ready by tomorrow, yes?” He asked, and she nodded, her tongue too busy to talk. “Great.”

Let's focus on this for now. He decided, greedy to awaken a new power of Mut, of himself, before the unavoidable clash with the White King.

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